SIGNED KOMA KYUHAKU, EDO PERIOD (LATE 18TH/EARLY 19TH CENTURY)

This design, a favourite subject in later Edo-period inro, is based on a tale that can be traced back as far as Tang-dynasty China and has probably been known in Japan since the 15th century, when a version was written for the No theatre. The story goes that a struggling scholar called Rosei (in Chinese, Lu Sheng) complained to a Daoist hermit about his poverty. The hermit pulled a pillow out of his bag and told Rosei that if he slept on it he could become as prosperous as he wanted. Rosei followed the hermit's instructions when he next stopped at an inn and promptly had a dream where he enjoyed wealth, women and success, rising to become a senior minister for ten years and eventually dying at a ripe old age. When Rosei woke up he found that the millet that was being cooked for him was not yet ready, because he had only been asleep for a few moments.